Trumpace

Yes of course diamonds can be 4-2... sorry about that. (when you are blinded by the point of the hand you tend to overlook everything else, a common problem with bridge columns) Your line works with 4-2 diamonds. (same as wayne's line). Assuming that spades split 3-2, this line is around 85%. There is a better line though, which requires atleast 5-1 diamond, 5-1 club split and 7-2 heart split. (close to 96%). (assumes 3-2 spade split).

Yes spades 4-1 or 5-0 cannot be made. So assume spades are 3-2. and hidden response to sceptic... ::::: :::::

Adv/Adv+ please refrain from posting solutions too early. Early comments are welcome though... [hv=n=s32h2daqj98cak543&s=sak7654ha54dk2c62]133|200|Scoring: Rubber Contract 6S. West leads ♥K[/hv] You are south the declarer. What is your plan after the lead of ♥K?

This hand came up tonight at BBO. You hold: AKQ2, AT865, KQJ7, - We red, they white at IMPS. RHO deals and passes. you bid 1H (would you have opened 2C?). LHO bids 2C. Partner bids 2H. RHO now comes in with 3C. What is your plan? [EDIT] The correct title should be "Is there a way to _investigate_ slam". I don't know how to change the topic title. [/EDIT]

This hand had come up in f2f bridge sometime back. On the actual hand, I led the club Ten and declarer made overtricks. The others then said that a spade lead was obviously better. I didn't see any reason for that, and one hand is certainly not proof. I just wanted to know the experts' opinion on this forum, hence the question. Also, thanks everyone, for the replies. I am now even more confused :D :P

You hold Q743, KT7, Q92, T98. RHO opens 1NT (15-17). You pass. LHO passes. Partner also passes. What would you lead? Is it obvious? Assume everyone is intermediate. (If that helps...)

As Michael Caine would put it: It's not the size mate. It's how you use it. ;)

I agree that _non-expert_ players should first develop card play and then think about improving the bidding system. What is the use when you bid to a game accurately only to go down because of poor play? I agree with Fred that card play and judgement should be developed first. I know I might get some heat by my following statement, but I would say that people without a good judgement are the first ones to rant about the need for a 'better' system. (Note that I am only talking about non-expert players). I have seen many declarers arguing with their partners about the _bidding_ after they have gone down in a cold contract. (I have done that many times myself). They never realise (want to realise) that their partner's bidding is probably reasonable and the contract could have been made. At the highest levels of the game where most are equal in terms of card play and (probably) judgement, the system would (should) come into the picture. But I don't see how we can say one system is better than the other... there will always be hands where one system fails and the other suceeds.

Run the clubs, pitching a spade and two hearts from hand, then run the spades from hand. You come down to ♥K ♦AKQx in hand (with ♦Txxx left in dummy) and West is squeezed (exit with ♥K in case he keeps ♥A ♦Jxxx). You don't need communication to execute a strip-squeeze. Arend Yes, I realised that after I posted... Also the statement about throwing West in with a diamond is totally silly! We would lose a diamond and a heart too! :D I was thinking declarer would squeeze East rather than West, for that we need communication.

What would the declarer do on a club lead? Seems like a club lead cuts the communication... (Maybe declarer can throw West in with a diamond?)

Thanks Ben! Lots of good stuff.

Free said: We don't know what to discard on the ♦A yet... Why? We know that East controls diamonds. If he also controls spades we have a spade-diamond simple squeeze against East. In that case it does not matter what we drop from the dummy on the ♦A. In case west holds onto spades, we can have a spade in hand as a threat and a club in dummy as threat against West. In that case we can discard a spade from dummy on the ♦A. Are you saying we _might_ need to keep the spade in dummy as a threat, rather than the spade in hand as the threat? My guess is: reading the end position becomes difficult/impossible if we discard early on the ♦A. (We won't know who controls spades?). I was not able to find this hand in Ben's thread about squeezes... Can anyone point me to the discussion of this hand?

Michael's cue bid is confusing. Sorry. Couldn't resist :(

I guess it depends on the bidding and your holding in the other suits, the latter probably being the dominant factor. For instance, if our hand has no valuable cards other than AKxxxx, we should lead 4th best in order to maintain communication with partner. If we have a sure entry, we could try the A maintaining chances of running the whole suit (for instance Qx with declarer etc).

Wouldn't it be better for the double to be lead directing for a fixed major, say hearts. Then we have the negative inference (something at least) to lead the other major (when we choose to lead one) when partner does not double.

Well, to some people who were born after this incident occured, it might be new :rolleyes: And it would be an interesting thread to read... :P

Hmm.. So it looks like most people play that 3NT implies some kind of stopper (or a lie :-) ), while there are some who say it need not imply a stopper as 3NT is a 'forced' bid. So this requires some kind of agreement. The reason I asked if the double of 3D was forcing is, if it were forcing, we have a 4D bid available to bid 3-3 majors hands without a diamond stopper. Partner would probably have to play in a 4-3 fit, but that has a chance at least. Follow up question: Same sequence, 1C-3D-3S, partner opens 1C, pesky RHO bids 3D. What should 3S mean here? Should it be forcing? Given that a double of 3D is a negative double with 10+ pts. (The reason I ask this is, some of you have said that 3S is a stronger bid than double of 3D). Would the kind of scoring (and vulnerability) change the meaning of the bid? Thanks, TrumpAce

Matchpoints. None vul. The following bidding sequence, you are South, North is dealer: 1C - 3D - X - P - 3NT A couple of questions: 1) Is X of 3D game forcing? 2) Does 3NT assure a diamond stopper or is this something which would require an agreement? [edit]Forgot to mention: We were playing SAYC, not 2/1.[/edit]

Yes. East was in the 3rd seat and had passed in his first turn. (West had passed too). The scoring was IMP pairs. NS vul.

This was played online, (of course at BBO) with a pickup partner. Opps seemed like decent players (from my point of view, I am intermediate, plus the were labelled 'expert'). Anyway, I went down 1 in the hand and wonder if it can be made. What makes me wonder even more is, is there an obvious play? I say this because my partner left in the middle (not in the beginning, so might not have left due to the bidding) of this hand. He/she was also 'intermediate' I think. I don't remember the exact bidding sequence. Can post it in the evening when I get home and check the hand record.

You are in a 4C contract, West having bids spades (first) and hearts (later) and East having supported hearts. [hv=n=skq97h9432dq4ct98&s=st8hqdat853cakq73]133|200|[/hv] West leads a low heart, East wins with the King and continues with the ♥Ace. What would be the best line for 4C?

I am still not so sure that the contract is unbeatable. If East does not ruff in on any spades, Declarer loses just one club in the end, making the contract (Edit: Not really true, Declarer needs the Club T). So East has to ruff in, and in order to avoid declarer making a small trump, he has to ruff in with the J (or 9, hoping West has the QT). The declarer can still get home, but, couldn't the defenders have made a mistake earlier in the hand?

I was kibitzing this hand yesterday. The declarer made nine tricks, but I have a feeling the defense slipped. [hv=d=n&v=e&n=skqj43hjt4d75ck87&w=st872ha53dt932cq4&e=s95hkq876da6cj952&s=sa6h92dkqj84cat63]399|300|Scoring: IMP[/hv] Bidding was: (North was dealer) P-P-1D-P-1S-X-2C-P-3C-PPP So, south ended up in a 3C contract on a 4-3 fit. The play went as follows: Heart 3 was led. East won with the Q and continued with the K and small heart. South ruffed with the 3 of clubs and led the diamond K. This was ducked. Declarer led the diamond Q next, won by East. East then shifted to a spade. Declarer won the A and K and continued with the Q. East ruffed, but with the 2! and declarer overruffed with the 6. Declarer then played the AK of clubs and continued spades, maintaining control and making 9 tricks. What mistake(s), if any, did the defenders make?

Sorry. Your line fails, for west holds a singleton spade. He ruffs your ♠K and exits with a trump. btw, the question was to spot declarer's mistakes, not to come up with a double dummy line, knowing what key cards west holds. So after 3 cards are played to trick one, what _should_ the declarer have done (single dummy), note that at this juncture, the declarer does not know if West holds the ♦K.

Trumps split 4-0, as East discards a ♥ on Trick 1.